[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2629 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2629

 To restore import and entry agricultural inspection functions to the 
                       Department of Agriculture.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 7, 2007

  Mr. Putnam introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland 
Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To restore import and entry agricultural inspection functions to the 
                       Department of Agriculture.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Agricultural Border Safeguard 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF IMPORT AND ENTRY AGRICULTURAL INSPECTION 
              FUNCTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

    (a) Repeal of Transfer of Functions.--Section 421 of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is repealed.
    (b) Conforming Amendment to Function of Secretary of Homeland 
Security.--Section 402 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
202) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (7); and
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (7).
    (c) Transfer Agreement.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than the effective date 
        described in subsection (g), the Secretary of Agriculture and 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security shall enter into an 
        agreement to effectuate the return of functions required by the 
        amendments made by this section.
            (2) Use of certain employees.--The agreement may include 
        authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to use employees of 
        the Department of Homeland Security to carry out authorities 
        delegated to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
        regarding the protection of domestic livestock and plants.
    (d) Restoration of Department of Agriculture Employees.--Not later 
than the effective date described in subsection (g) of this section, 
all full-time equivalent positions of the Department of Agriculture 
transferred to the Department of Homeland Security under section 421(g) 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231(g)) shall be 
restored to the Department of Agriculture.
    (e) Authority of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
Regarding Inspection User Fees.--The Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service may, as applicable--
            (1) continue to collect any agricultural quarantine 
        inspection user fee; and
            (2) administer any reserve account for the fees.
    (f) Duties of Secretary of Agriculture.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to 
        in this subsection as the ``Secretary'') shall--
                    (A) develop standard operating procedures for 
                inspection, monitoring, and auditing relating to import 
                and entry agricultural inspections, in accordance with 
                recommendations from the Comptroller General of the 
                United States and reports of interagency advisory 
                groups, as applicable; and
                    (B) ensure that the Animal and Plant Health 
                Inspection Service has a national electronic system 
                with real-time tracking capability for monitoring, 
                tracking, and reporting inspection activities of the 
                Service.
            (2) Federal and state cooperation.--
                    (A) Communication system.--The Secretary shall 
                develop and maintain an integrated, real-time 
                communication system with respect to import and entry 
                agricultural inspections to alert State departments of 
                agriculture of significant inspection findings of the 
                Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
                    (B) Advisory committee.--
                            (i) Establishment.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish a committee, to be known as the 
                        ``International Trade Inspection Advisory 
                        Committee'' (referred to in this subparagraph 
                        as the ``committee''), to advise the Secretary 
                        on policies and other issues relating to import 
                        and entry agricultural inspection.
                            (ii) Model.--In establishing the committee, 
                        the Secretary shall use as a model the 
                        Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee.
                            (iii) Membership.--The committee shall be 
                        composed of members representing--
                                    (I) State departments of 
                                agriculture;
                                    (II) directors of ports and 
                                airports in the United States;
                                    (III) the transportation industry;
                                    (IV) the public; and
                                    (V) such other entities as the 
                                Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            (3) Report.--Not less frequently than once each year, the 
        Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing an 
        assessment of--
                    (A) the resource needs for import and entry 
                agricultural inspection, including the number of 
                inspectors required;
                    (B) the adequacy of inspection and monitoring 
                procedures and facilities in the United States; and
                    (C) new and potential technologies and practices, 
                including recommendations regarding the technologies 
                and practices, to improve import and entry agricultural 
                inspection.
            (4) Funding.--The Secretary shall pay the costs of each 
        import and entry agricultural inspector employed by the Animal 
        and Plant Health Inspection Service--
                    (A) from amounts made available to the Department 
                of Agriculture for the applicable fiscal year; or
                    (B) if amounts described in subparagraph (A) are 
                unavailable, from amounts of the Commodity Credit 
                Cooperation.
    (g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take 
effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
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